Poetry is what gets lost in translation-Robert Frost

November 01, 2017

Blues Harp

Takashi Miike's 1998 Blues Harp is another impressive non-extreme outing. However, it does fit into the yakuza genre that is one of his usual genres. It is exceptionally well-done as it follows the friendship of a low level gangster (who is in the closet) Kenji (Seichi Tanabe) and budding blues harmonica player Chuji (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi). The setting is Yokohoma and has inspired cinematography and well-choreographed shooting scenes. One of my favorite Miike films to date also following another strong showing I saw recently-The Bird People in China.